


For My Family

by zoetekohana



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Pacific Rim AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5583523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoetekohana/pseuds/zoetekohana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To fight monsters, they created monsters of their own; the Digital Monster Program. As a last, desperate effort to save mankind, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive one of those special weapons. [Pacific Rim AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	For My Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [curiosa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiosa/gifts).



**_Kaiju_ ** _(_ _怪獣_ _, Japanese): Giant Beast._

**_Digimon_ ** _(_ _デジモン_ _, Japanese): Digital Monster._

* * *

Mankind had always wondered if there was other sentient life somewhere in the Universe, somewhere beyond the stars. It turned out they were looking in the wrong direction. When extra-terrestrials entered Earth, they didn’t come flying down the sky via UFO’s like _Independence Day_ or _Mars Attacks_ predicted. No, it was from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, via a fissure between two tectonic plates which held a portal between dimensions.

_The Breach._

On July 23, 1995, San Francisco was experiencing a 7.1 earthquake, causing a shift in the Earth’s shell and opening an entranceway for gargantuan amphibious-like creatures. The first Kaiju (later aptly named Trespasser) came through and attacked the city, destroying everything in its path.

It took the United States military and the British Royal Air Force four days and thirty-five miles to ultimately annihilate the threat in Oakland. Thousands and thousands of lives were lost in the Kaiju's rampage.

People mourned the deaths, memorialized the day as K-day and then as swift as the attack came, moved on.

However, this first attack certainly wasn’t the last.

Less than a year later, on February 5, 1996, a second Kaiju hit Manila. The third one hit Cabo San Lucas only three months after. During these violent disturbances, inhabitants discovered that the acid factor of the Kaiju blood created a toxic phenomenon known as Kaiju Blue.

After the fourth Kaiju assault in Sydney, mankind realised that this nightmare wasn’t going to stop. They realised that their jets, missiles and tanks weren’t enough to counteract these continuous offenses, and so they understood that they needed a new weapon. Therefore a World Conference assembled all the brightest minds together to pool all their resources. It was Gennai Yanami’s proposal that was accepted.

“Fight fire with fire,” he argued, “So to fight monsters, we have to create monsters of our own.”

And so the Digital Monster Program was born.

The Digimon were huge mechanical mobile robots that could be controlled by a pilot (properly known as a Digidestined) through a neural merge with the body of the giant machine. Unfortunately, Gennai soon discovered that there were setbacks to his invention. The neural load to interface with a Digimon appeared to be too much for one person. They implemented the two pilot system for one Digimon, which was called the Jogress.

The deeper the bond between the two Digidestined was, the better they would be able fight together as one.

Mankind started winning.

But then it all changed twenty years after K-day when it became clear that the Kaijus were learning about the defences. They were adapting, evolving, and Digimon were dropping faster than could be built.

The directors of the Pacific Defence Corps declared that the Digimon weren’t the most viable line of defence anymore. Instead they concluded to put all resources into the Coastal Wall Program, which entailed to build immense walls around the coast to prevent Kaijus from invading cities.

They delegated to place all the remaining Digimon as back up in the last battle station of Tokyo until the Coastal Wall was completed. After that, they would refuse further support.

Gennai Yanami thought they were idiots…

* * *

The construction of the Coastal Wall was still in progress in Sitka, Alaska. A strong, cold wind seeped through the thick parkas of the workmen, but Yamato Ishida was one of the few builders who powered through until lunch time.

He was sitting in the back of the “cafeteria” (it was actually just the ground floor where the labourers sat on I-beams), quietly eating his sandwich, not bothering with anyone or anything until someone turned up the volume of the television to listen to an emergency news interruption. The reporter couldn’t hide her panic when she informed listeners that earlier that day another attack by a colossal Category 4 Kaiju occurred in Sydney.

Everyone was shocked to see images of the monster penetrating the wall like it was nothing. Incredulous murmurs echoed through the crowd, each one wondering why they were even building this thing for months now if a Kaiju could break through in less than an hour.

The newscast continued, narrating that it was the recently decommissioned Digimon, the Paildramon, that ultimately ceased the menace.

One of its Digidestined stated, with a smug grin painted on his face, “The only reason why they decommissioned the Digimon Program is because of mediocre pilots. This Kaiju has been Paildramon’s _tenth kill_ to date, which is a new record. But orders are orders, so we still need to go to Tokyo.”

Yamato snorted, picked up his safety helmet and simply went outside to get some fresh air, while the other workmen continued watching the news broadcast.

He needed to shield his eyes from the piercing light of the low hanging sun. The sky was a backdrop painted over with shades of orange and red. Until he heard the loud swooshing noises of rotary wings spinning around and noticed a black silhouette of a flying helicopter nearing the premises. It landed on the open space some ten meters from where he was standing.

The sound of the helicopter evidently attracted the other builders, as they came pouring out the skeletal frame of the Coastal Wall to observe what was happening.

Once the engine was turned off, a greenish-black haired man in his late thirties stepped out of the vehicle. He tugged his thick navy woollen coat tighter around his torso, clearly not expecting the weather to be this frosty. His brown eyes were scanning the crowd, until his gaze finally rested upon Yamato. He walked over to where the blond young man was positioned, ignoring the flummoxed stares of everyone else.

“Marshal Daigo Nishijima,” Yamato courtly addressed him, but the muscles in his body were tensed up and his expression was stern. Daigo could read his body language instantly. It was obvious that his presence was unwanted.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you,” he opted to say, after a small pause.

“Five years, four months and thirteen days to be exact.”

Daigo didn’t break their eye contact, despite the intensity that exuded from Yamato’s icy stare. “Can I have a word with you in private?”

Yamato hesitated, attempting to ignore the feeling of frustration that didn’t sit well in his stomach. He took a deep breath, a little ragged, and nodded at the older man. He’d prefer to be left alone, but he knew all too well that declining the Marshal was impossible. And he couldn’t help but be curious as to why Daigo Nishijima travelled all this way to Alaska to merely talk to him. So Yamato ushered him further past the wall so they could speak without any eavesdroppers.

“What do you want?” Yamato inquired immediately when they came to a halt, wanting to get to the point straight away.

“I need you to come back.”

Yamato crossed his arms. So Daigo clarified, “You may have heard on the news by now that the Digimon Program is gradually getting abrogated. So the remaining team and myself spent the last six months activating everything we still could acquire. Amongst that is an old Digimon, a Mark 3, which you may be… _familiar_ with. It needs a Digidestined.”

“Why are you asking me? I’m certain I wasn’t your first choice,” Yamato scoffed.

“You are my first choice. All the other Mark 3 Digidestined are dead,” Daigo denoted in a dry manner.

“It doesn’t even matter. I don’t want to Jogress with anyone ever again. Considering what happened…”

Yamato started to walk away from Daigo, but was stopped in his tracks when he felt the other’s hand gripping his shoulder.

“The world is coming to an end, Mr. Ishida. And the only question you need to ask yourself is where you would rather die. Here, or in a Digimon?”

Yamato groaned, defeated. “I already know the answer.”

* * *

By the time Daigo and Yamato arrived at the Tokyo battle station (about twenty-six hours and four stops later), night had fallen on the city. A soft blanket of glittering stars had covered the black sky. They stepped out of the helicopter, only to be greeted by a fair-skinned girl with long black hair that fell as a straight curtain to her mid-back. Yamato estimated her being roughly the same age as him.

“Mr. Ishida, this is Meiko Mochizuki,” Daigo began introducing her, “She’s my assistant. She personally handpicked your co-pilot candidates.”

Meiko’s face flushed at Yamato’s charming smile, and she quickly, and very desperately, tried to keep her blush under control by bowing a hello politely.

Daigo had to supress an eye roll. Yamato Ishida was well-known to _captivate_ people’s interest, but he sure didn’t want to witness his assistant fawning over him. Scraping his throat to catch their attention, and so to prevent further awkwardness, he ushered them both towards the elevator, whilst saying, “We will tour the facility first, and then Miss Mochizuki will show you to your Digimon, Mr. Ishida.”

Two sturdy men were busy towing several green-lit containers with Kaiju organs inside the elevator. Meiko couldn’t conceal her disgust at the sight of the organs steadily floating in the fluid, but she strode inside the elevator anyways along with Daigo and Yamato.

When they reached the floor, the heavy doors slid open, revealing a mid-twenty woman draped in a lab coat waiting on the other side. She was very attractive, with tanned skin and an oval shaped faced which was framed by auburn-coloured hair with feathery layers. Her lips parted slightly in astonishment when her maroon eyes met Yamato’s blue.

“Mr. Ishida,” Meiko spoke up when they walked outside the elevator “this is our Kaiju biologist of our research team, doctor Sora Takenouchi,”

“Sora Takenouchi,” Yamato reiterated, with a hushed tone.

Daigo looked on, guardedly, mentally smacking himself for not warning either of them that they’d meet again.

Sora forced a smile, replying as politely as she possibly could, “Yamato Ishida, I wasn’t aware you’d be coming back to the Pacific Defence Corps.” At these words her eyes flickered to Daigo, who avoided her gaze purposely. “Welcome back,” she simply proceeded.

“Thank you,” Yamato whispered, still in awe at the sight of Sora.

Meiko was confused at the interaction. “You two know each other?”

Yamato shook his head slightly, as if breaking himself free from this trance and finally looked away from Sora. “We were stationed in the Hong Kong base together,” he explained.

“Five years ago,” Sora added with a nod, clearly struggling to keep her composure. “If you’d excuse me, I have to examine these Kaiju samples.” And without a proper goodbye, she led the two men, who tugged at the handles of the pallet jacks with the Kaiju containers, down the hallway towards her laboratory.

“Thanks for the head’s up,” Yamato snarked at Daigo, who plainly ignored that comment.

* * *

“Welcome to the Shatterdome.”

Yamato walked inside the main area of the facility, turning around 360 degrees to soak it all in. It was a large rectangular space that seemed to go on endlessly. He noticed a giant clock above the door he’d just entered through.

Before he could ask about it, Daigo already answered his unspoken question, “It’s a war clock to track how long it’s been since the last Kaiju attack. We reset it afterwards every time to keep everyone focused. We’ve unfortunately remarked that the frequency of attacks is accelerating.”

Yamato frowned, as it dawned on him that the war against the Kaijus was exceedingly deteriorating since he had retired from the Pacific Defence Corps all those years ago.

“Come on, we’ll show you to the three other Digimon besides yours.”

“Wait, _only three_?” Yamato queried.

“We don’t have the resources anymore to lodge thirty anymore,” Daigo replied matter-of-factly. “This Digimon is Syakomon,” he strayed back to the original quest, pointing at the first robot they came across. “It was assembled in China. Her Digidestined are the Poi brothers, who are famous for their effect triple-arm technique.”

They moved over to the next one. “Now this one is the oldest we have left, a first generation Mark 1, the Snikuwagamon. She’s manned by Yuri and Sonya Kaidanovsky.”

“I’ve heard of them,” Yamato said. “They patrolled the Siberian Wall. It remained unbreached for many years on their watch. They’re excellent Digidestined.”

Daigo nodded, wordlessly concurring.

“Lastly we have the Paildramon. She’s the fastest Digimon in the world, first and last of the Mark 5s,” he continued his tour of the facility. “She's still on her way back from Sydney.”

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” Yamato suddenly blurted out, rubbing the back of his neck hesitantly, “but you still haven’t told me why you needed me back here,”

Daigo considered him for a moment, before making up his mind with a short, yet heavy sigh. “We’re going for the Breach, Mr. Ishida. We’re going strap a thermonuclear warhead to Paildramon’s back and blow up the portal. You and the two other Digimon will be running defence for them.”

“Marshal, we’ve hit the Breach before and it was a hopeless cause since nothing goes through. Has there been a new development I should know about?”

Daigo pursed his lips together, inconspicuously contemplating on how to reply. He opted for the obscure, “I’ve got a plan. That would be all.” With that he retreated, off to attend other business.

Meiko finally piped up again. “I’ll show you to your Digimon now. You’ll be pleased to hear that she’s better than new since she has a double-core nuclear reactor.” She grinned. “Your Omegamon is one of a kind now.”

* * *

“She’s so beautiful.”

Mimi Tachikawa cocked an eyebrow, very much entertained at the avid expression by the slightly older boy standing next to her.

He was semi-leaning over the railing, one foot placed over the other, and his chocolate brown eyes wide as they explored every detail of the giant robot in front of them. Omegamon was roughly 79 metres high, weighing 1,980 tons. It was coated with a dark electric blue with an orange hue. The head was shaped as a wolf-like dinosaur.

Mimi had grown rather fond of her daily trips with Taichi to gawk at the mechanical weapon. If he didn’t drag her (which was rarely), she could always find him there. Whenever he was staring at the Digimon, she would inconspicuously study his features. He definitely was nice to look at, handsome in a rather raw kind of way, with his bushy russet brown hair, his angular jawline covered in a barely visible stubble. As a psychologist-to-be she considered herself to be rather good at reading his thoughts, and yet she still didn’t know if he secretly looked at her the way she looked at him.

“I’m going to pilot it,” he stated, exuding an enormous amount of determination and interrupting her train of thoughts. Mimi blinked in her reverie and then simply giggled, until they heard a voice from behind them,

“Is that so?”

The guy scowled. “Without a doubt. Who the hell are you?” he asked, rudely and winced when Mimi jabbed him in the ribs.

“I’m Yamato Ishida. The _actual_ pilot of that Digimon,” he said, pointing at Omegamon.

Both paled at that answer. They couldn’t believe the very Digidestined of the robot they were admiring was facing them.

“What’s your name?” Yamato asked him.

“Taichi Yagami.”

“And you think you could be a Digidestined? What’s your simulator score?”

“51 drops, 51 kills.”

“That’s impressive. _Very_ impressive,” he said, and Taichi couldn’t have smiled brighter at hearing this compliment, brushing a hand through his unkempt brown mane sheepishly.

Meiko and Mimi exchanged wary looks, which didn’t go unnoticed by Yamato. Mimi wrapped her hands around Taichi’s upper arm, tugging slightly while suggesting in a fictitiously cheerful manner, “Come on, Tai. Let’s see if Koushirou has fixed my dictaphone.”

Taichi bowed a polite goodbye to Meiko and Yamato as Mimi hauled him away.

“So, he seems eager to become a Digidestined to Omegamon.” Yamato smiled, amused. “Is he one of the candidates tomorrow?” he queried.

“He wants to be a Digidestined more than anything,” Meiko replied truthfully. “Nevertheless he’s not a candidate.”

“Are you serious? With his simulator score I can’t comprehend why he wouldn’t be.”

“The Marshal has his reasons,” she parried vaguely. Eager to end this moot, she quickly continued before Yamato could rejoinder, “I hope you approve of the choices I do have lined up for you. Get some sleep, you need to be well-rested when you meet them tomorrow.”

* * *

“The candidates are ready, sir,” Meiko told Daigo, while they were walking towards the Kwoon Combat Room where said candidates were awaiting them. After he muttered a simple “good” in response, Meiko bit her lip pensively, seeking the best way to phrase what she wanted to discuss next. She knew it was dangerous ground, which she needed to tread carefully.

“But there is one thing. I think–,” she started, but was cut off promptly.

“Meiko, don’t bring this up again…”

“You promised him, sir. He promised him.”

With a taut “hmmf”, Daigo balled his fists, as if to concentrate all his pent-up frustration on the matter in his hands to keep himself from exploding completely. “ _He_ isn’t here anymore,” he retorted with resentment apparent in his tone.

Meiko flinched. She knew he was irascible concerning this particular topic, but she was still taken aback at the sight of the ever composed Daigo snapping.

“Look, I can’t allow that to happen,” he proceeded, pinching the bridge of his nose as it seemingly helped calming himself down a bit. “Vengeance isn’t the most efficient motivation to become a Digidestined. No one should take that level of emotion into the Jogress. It’s too perilous.”

* * *

“Welcome to the candidate trials,” a brown-haired man of petite stature spoke up sternly. “My name is Iori Hida and I will be monitoring these tests today to see who’s most evenly matched to Yamato. These tests will consist of a Kendo match. Four strikes marks a win. Based on the duration and the gravitation during the fight, I will be able to gather who will be his Jogress partner. And don’t forget, this is about compatibility. It’s a dialogue, not a fight to win per se.”

“Does anyone have any questions?” Daigo, who was standing in between Iori and Meiko, asked, his eyes narrowed at the sollicitants calculatingly. He just hoped there was someone in this bulk who’d be potentially Jogress compatible with Yamato.

There was no reply.

“Begin.”

Yamato gained his four strikes to every candidate he faced so far quickly. _Too quickly_. After every battle Iori called out the number of strikes (“Four points to zero.” “Four points to one.” “Four points to one.” “Four points to two.”), and Daigo grunted almost every time. He couldn’t help it. He felt vexation exponentially seething in his chest. He desperately needed someone to be a co-Digidestined to Yamato in order for his final plan to work.

He grew tired of watching this disappointment and cocked his head towards Meiko, whispering rather harshly, “I thought these were _the best_ you could find.”

Meiko stiffened at those words. “I did, sir,” she replied, her voice tinged with worry. “I studied all of Yamato’s fights, his moves, and then I researched everyone who enlisted in the Digimon Academy for potential compatibility.”

She grew self-conscious when Daigo merely frowned, not even bothering to meet her gaze. She hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. “There are still four more candidates left, sir. Maybe one of them will show potential.”

Daigo hummed, not feeling any better.

Yamato stretched his arms in front of him and flexed them, working out the kinks that had been building up during the past eleven fights. He could sense Daigo’s tense and annoyed stare bearing in his back. He knew the Marshal well enough to apprehend his growing frustration at not detecting a possible Digidestined. He honestly felt the same frustration.

The next candidate stepped forward onto the mat, his blue-ish black hair tied back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. They bowed to each other before commencing their fight. Surprisingly it took a while before Yamato was able to land a strike on the lad. The next strike was won by the candidate. They truly seemed to possess a connection needed to be Jogress compatible.

This sparked the interest of every single person In the room, who watched on expectantly as the two combatants kept on fencing with their shinai. It seemed to last an eternity before every strike. Eventually Yamato reached four strikes first.

“Four points to three,” Iori beamed, turning to look at an evenly relieved Daigo and Meiko.

“Congrats, young man. You will be Yamato’s co-Digidestined,” Daigo asserted.

The mysterious boy smirked triumphantly. “You can’t imagine my happiness at hearing _you_ say that, sir,” he exclaimed. His fingers reached up to grip his ponytail and yanked it hard, an action that took everyone by surprise. Throwing what was apparently a wig on the ground, he brushed his hand through his wild messy locks.

Daigo blinks in horror, registering that he had chosen Taichi as the new Digidestined for Omegamon. The very thing he tried to avoid from happening.

While everyone else applauded, Yamato shook Taichi’s hand excitedly. “I can’t wait to co-pilot Omegamon with you.”

It didn’t take long for Daigo to refuse. “This is not going to happen.”

Yamato’s exuberant expression switched rapidly to disappointment. “You’re joking, right? I don’t know why you’re so intent on holding him back, but the fact of the matter is that I’m not going to share this kind of connection with anyone else. I told you I didn’t want to Jogress with anyone again,” he reminded him of their conversation in Alaska. “But I’m trying to push aside my personal demons for the greater good. You are the one who needs me to fight. Well, I can only do so with him by my side.”

Daigo clenched his jaw, calculatingly reading everyone’s expressions before answering. He felt the urge in Meiko’s and Iori’s eyes for him to agree, while Taichi simply pouted at him before bending his down, as if all hope to ever become a Digidestined drained away from his body.

He gulped hard, as if he tried to swallow all his instincts down. Eventually he caved and allowed Taichi to, at least, a trial Jogress with Yamato.

Taichi ran up to him, enveloping him in a hug as a thank you.

“I will make you proud.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my secret santee, **curiosa** , for the [secretsantamon](http://secretsantamon.tumblr.com/) over at tumblr. In your wish list you stated you liked AUs, so I took the liberty to skim your blog to find an AU that you’d like. That’s when I stumbled upon your reblog of [this beautiful fanart](http://vilify.tumblr.com/post/134750469422/jogress-partners-are-pretty-much-canonically-drift) by **vilify**. It inspired me to create this gift. 
> 
> I want to thank you for your patience. I’m so sorry you had to wait a few days more for your gift. But I really hope it was worth the wait. And I really hope you had the best of holidays, with lots of great presents and delicious food!
> 
> Also many many thanks to the lovely **ExMachiina** for beta-ing, and for listening to my rants every time I wanted to give up and delete this entire thing. She motivated me to keep on writing. As did **eruriku** and **thewalkingweapon** , so they deserve a lot of credit too. You guys really were a tremendous help. I can’t express my thanks enough. :)
> 
> I know it mainly followed the film's storyline for now, but that will change quickly...


End file.
